The NFL is lame. Really, really lame. How do I know this? They want you to believe that Juqua Parker’s body slam of Jason Campbell at the end of last Sunday’s loss in Philadelphia was legal. Big Stein has the story:

Regarding Juqua Parker’s late-game body slam of Jason Campbell, a play that drew no flag, I think Football Outsiders’s Doug Farrar said it best:

If Juqua Parker body-slammed Brady or Manning like he did Jason Campbell, he wouldn’t be penalized — he’d be deported.

Redskins offensive coordinator Sherman Smith agreed, during his weekly interview with Comcast SportsNet.

“They’d have kicked the guy out of the game, they’d have fined him right on the spot,” Smith joked, when asked what would have happened had Brady been slammed like that. “There’s no question about it,” Smith continued, turning serious. “There’s no way you don’t make that call. I’m just disappointed that the call wasn’t made. I don’t know how you don’t make that call. And I thought he hit him after the throw. Even if he hit him on time, to throw him down the way he did is still a penalty.”

However, when Jim Zorn sent the play into the NFL for review, he was told it was a legal hit due to the fact that Parker grabbed Campbell around the shoulders, not the head. Of course, that’s a dodge since it doesn’t get to the fact that Parker body-slammed Campbell to the ground well after the ball had been released. Like I wrote above: Lame, NFL. Very, very lame.

Speaking of Campbell and Sherman Smith, the offensive coordinator has high praise for the quarterback’s play behind a wreck of an offensive line:

“Jason is doing a great job,” offensive coordinator Sherman Smith said. “All of our big plays come through the passing. They all come through Jason. Somehow, he’s got to make a play. He scrambles, he throws the ball, he does a good job in the pocket and he throws the ball. Every big play that we’ve had has been a result of him. He has been outstanding. And just imagine what he could do under different circumstances.”

Sticking with Sherman Smith for a bit longer, he responded to injured TE Chris Cooley describing the way Washington gets its plays in to Jason Campbell as a “a carousel of calls.” Speaking to Comcast sports:

“It’s not as confusing as it sounds,” he told Kelli Johnson. “Believe me, it isn’t. Because if it were, I think you’d see a lot more delay of games, a lot more broken plays and guys lining up wrong, but that hasn’t been the case….I think it’s pretty good. There’s some other teams that kind of do it that way, and I can see the benefits of it.”

John Keim provides us with a depressing list of missed opportunities in games this season that led to Washington’s 3-8 record. Keim is right, as usual, though I think the biggest missed opportunities were by the front office in the offseason. Read it.

John Keim asks the big questions facing the Redskins this week, including: How much more punishment can Jason Campbell take? And how much does Saints Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams want payback on this old team? Answers: Not much more and a whole helluva lot. Read it.

Team owner Dan Snyder didn’t like Gregg Williams and ditched plans to make him the head coach in favor of Jim Zorn. Redskins defenders know Williams is a good coach and expect him to bring the heat on Sunday.

Williams is the architect of the Saints’ major turnaround on defense, which has helped the NFC South leaders become arguably the NFL’s best team.

Maintaining the same aggressive approach he took with the Redskins, Williams has transformed the Saints’ defense, which last season ranked 23rd in the league in yards and tied for 26th in points, into an attacking group that leads the league with 22 interceptions and is tied for 10th with 26 sacks. Although New Orleans is giving up about the same average yardage per game it did last season, it has reduced its points average from 24.6 to 20.1.

…

“You knew Gregg would get those boys going, ’cause that’s what he does,” cornerback Fred Smoot said recently. “You know Gregg is going to get after it. A lot of times, he’d just leave me and Shawn [Springs] out there in that hard-knock ‘zero’ [all-out blitz, no safety help] and just tell us to get it done. And you know you better.”

…

“He’ll probably want to get us a little bit more considering everything that transpired a couple years ago with him,” said middle linebacker London Fletcher, who also played under Williams in Buffalo. “But at the end of the day, we know he’s going to bring his exotic blitzes, his pressure package. But a lot of teams bring exotic blitz packages. So it’s something that the offense has to be prepared for.”

Williams strives for perfection and pushes players to excel. “He would take you off the field and show you what he meant,” defensive tackle Kedric Golston said. “He wanted you to understand the game for you to be a better player. He’s an established coach in this league, and he wanted his players to be the best. I just accepted the fact that he’s my boss.

“I work for him. And I need to do what he tells me to do. However he tells me to do that, he can communicate any kind of way he wants to. It’s just up to me to figure out what he wants me to do and do it. At the end of the day, Gregg Williams cared just like our staff does here. I learned a lot from him, and I had fun playing for him.”

Williams still has strong ties to some within the organization, and some of his former Redskins players said they would not be surprised if he became a head coach again soon.

“I got like an old-school feeling from him,” versatile defensive lineman Lorenzo Alexander said. “He really was very fair, as far as top to bottom, in how he treated people. He didn’t care how much money you made, he went at everybody the same way.

“He was real adamant about running to the ball, holding people accountable and getting after people, too. He’s a very passionate coach. And obviously, he’s proven he’s a very good coach.”

Here is something you already knew: MLB London Fletcher is a good player having another good season. Read it.

Clinton Portis says he has been cleared to play by a local doctor, but will wait for confirmation from a Pittsburgh concussion specialist before taking the field again. Good idea, Clinton. Get well and don’t  hurry back. Read it.

Portis also said these things during his weekly radio appearance:

*On possibly being placed on IR:

“That’s up to them. I would love to be on the field trying to get out there and finish out the season. At the same time, I have to do what’s safe and what’s best. If I’m cleared and can get back out there for the last few games, I’m definitely going to try and get back out there. If I can’t, I’ll go into the off season healthy and starting off fresh next year.”

*On the Redskins possibly undergoing massive changes:

“For the players, it’s something we’re used to. As far as revamping the organization, that’s the choice they have to make. At some point, you realize all the talent and all the money you’re spending to help you win and we’re not really doing that. I’m sure at some point Mr Snyder’s frustration will kick in and who knows if he decides to clean house and start all over. If you look to teams that have done that, you might find more success – rebuilding and cleaning it out. If I’m around, you have to find a way to fit in and give everything I’ve got.”

*On the offense scoring 20-plus points in two of last three weeks and the Redskins losing close games to Dallas and Philadelphia:

“The guys that take that field look forward to playing and stepping up. We were missing at least seven or eight guys and they still played the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys down to the end of the game. That speaks volumes about the character and talent on this team. It’s just a matter of coming away with the win. In these last couple weeks, you’ve seen more explosive plays and more people involved and just really utilizing our talent. If you could start over and get everybody involved at the beginning of the season, I don’t know how it would go but more guys would have come up with more opportunities and more chances to make big plays.”

Jim Zorn tries not to lose heart in the midst of a 3-8 season that will probably mark the end of his NFL coaching career. Read it.

Antoine Holmes, a 6′2″ and 290-lb defensive tackle from Williamsburg, VA and North Carolina State, has been signed to the Redskins practice squad. He’s had previous stints on the practice squads of Minnesota and Arizona. Read it.

DC hip-hop artist Wale will perform during halftime of the Redskins-Dallas game at FedEx Field. Read it.